Nine Ladies Anti Quarry Protest Under Threat
Ant | 20.01.2004 17:12 | Ecology | Indymedia | World
The Nine Ladies protest site. Set up in 1999 to stop a proposed 3.2million tonnes being extracted fromt the beautiful and historically important Peak District National Park.
The camp is about to be evicted allowing the destruction of 30 hectares of land.
The camp is about to be evicted allowing the destruction of 30 hectares of land.
On 12 December 2003 Stancliffe Stone, a subsidiary of Marshalls PLC submitted a scheme for working the quarries at Endcliffe and Lees Cross to the Peak District National Park Authority, PDNPA. They want to extract 3.2 million tons of rock from a 12.95 hectare site within 100m of the Nine Ladies Stone Circle. The resultant scar will be 100m deep, devastating the environment of this treasured site for ever.
Background info
The 4000 year old Iron Age Stone Circle, Nine Ladies, has over the 20th Century been threatened by quarrying. Lees Cross and Endcliffe are old dormant quarries lying on the eastern moorside near the stones.
1952: Stancliffe Obtains Lease of Mineral Rights to Endcliffe and Lees Cross Quarries from landowner, the Duke of Rutland, Haddon Hall. The Quarries are given planning consent because of the pressing need for postwar building materials.
1995: Under the environment act Lees Cross and Endcliffe are declared dormant (inactive). The operator is NOT allowed to work a dormant quarry unless working practices have been agreed with the PDNPA. Stancliffe is given time to disagree with this decision and does not do so.
1999: Stancliffe make a submission to agree working practices and reopen the quarries. The submission meets widespread opposition and is cannot considered because the environmental impact assessment is not adequate. Nine Ladies Anti-Quarry Campaign, a protest site situated in the quarries themselves is set up.
2001: Stancliffe is bought out by the much larger Marshalls PLC
2003: Marshalls submit a new scheme for working, with the necessary paperwork, to reopen the quarries and extract 3.2 million tons of rock. If the PDNPA revokes the existing consent, they may be liable compensation equal to the market value of the stone. There is no way the authority can come up with this sum which could be more than £100 million.
Lees Cross and Endliffe are dormant quarries
Marshalls have hired a barrister to claim that the quarries should be classed as active. Even though this is blatantly untrue, if this view was upheld in law the PDNPA would be restricted in what working conditions it could impose on the quarry.
As part of the Lease agreement, the landowner, Lord Edward Manners, receives £30 for each ton of rock extracted. If the quarry goes ahead Haddon Hall will make around £100 million.
This raises a serious question: As an example of British aristocracy, should the Duke of Rutland, pocket £100m for sitting back and letting the land around this ancient site be destroyed? Or as a Landowner, should he bite the bullet and protect the land that he owns? We leave you to make your own mind up
Write to : DEFRA Helpline
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
3-8 Whitehall Place
London
SW1A 2HH
Lord Edward Manners
Haddon Hall
Bakewell
Debys
De45 1La
Visit/Contact us
Nine Ladies anti-quarry campaign, Lees Road, Stanton Lees,
MATLOCK, Derbyshire, DE4 2LQ Tel: 0700 5942212
Background info
The 4000 year old Iron Age Stone Circle, Nine Ladies, has over the 20th Century been threatened by quarrying. Lees Cross and Endcliffe are old dormant quarries lying on the eastern moorside near the stones.
1952: Stancliffe Obtains Lease of Mineral Rights to Endcliffe and Lees Cross Quarries from landowner, the Duke of Rutland, Haddon Hall. The Quarries are given planning consent because of the pressing need for postwar building materials.
1995: Under the environment act Lees Cross and Endcliffe are declared dormant (inactive). The operator is NOT allowed to work a dormant quarry unless working practices have been agreed with the PDNPA. Stancliffe is given time to disagree with this decision and does not do so.
1999: Stancliffe make a submission to agree working practices and reopen the quarries. The submission meets widespread opposition and is cannot considered because the environmental impact assessment is not adequate. Nine Ladies Anti-Quarry Campaign, a protest site situated in the quarries themselves is set up.
2001: Stancliffe is bought out by the much larger Marshalls PLC
2003: Marshalls submit a new scheme for working, with the necessary paperwork, to reopen the quarries and extract 3.2 million tons of rock. If the PDNPA revokes the existing consent, they may be liable compensation equal to the market value of the stone. There is no way the authority can come up with this sum which could be more than £100 million.
Lees Cross and Endliffe are dormant quarries
Marshalls have hired a barrister to claim that the quarries should be classed as active. Even though this is blatantly untrue, if this view was upheld in law the PDNPA would be restricted in what working conditions it could impose on the quarry.
As part of the Lease agreement, the landowner, Lord Edward Manners, receives £30 for each ton of rock extracted. If the quarry goes ahead Haddon Hall will make around £100 million.
This raises a serious question: As an example of British aristocracy, should the Duke of Rutland, pocket £100m for sitting back and letting the land around this ancient site be destroyed? Or as a Landowner, should he bite the bullet and protect the land that he owns? We leave you to make your own mind up
Write to : DEFRA Helpline
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
3-8 Whitehall Place
London
SW1A 2HH
Lord Edward Manners
Haddon Hall
Bakewell
Debys
De45 1La
Visit/Contact us
Nine Ladies anti-quarry campaign, Lees Road, Stanton Lees,
MATLOCK, Derbyshire, DE4 2LQ Tel: 0700 5942212
Ant
e-mail:
Antvurt@yahoo.co.uk
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
Nine ladies possession court order obtained today 22/01/2004
22.01.2004 19:50
with them and they could begin eviction as soon as they get their warrant
which could be in as little as 24 hours. They have their climbers and
security crews ready. This information has come direct from site.
Bastards!
People needed on site NOW!!
Please start your phone trees
The person on site with site phone has requested that unless it is really
urgent, please try and use text messaging only - Thanks
Site number 0700 5942212
There is now a forum for nine ladies on the road alert website
anon
update from nineladies protest site
06.02.2004 00:20
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marshalls have obtained a repossession order from the courts and this was served to the Protest site by Police on 23 January.
EVICTION COULD COME AT ANY TIME !!!
Marshalls/Stancliffe Stone and the Peak Park authority are currently having legal battles over the status of the Lees Cross and Endcliffe quarries. Marshalls/Stancliffe Stone are arguing that the quarries are still active which is obviously nonsense.
If the Peak Park authority suceed in proving that the quarries are dormant, they are legally allowed to place tight restrictions on the amount of stone that Marshalls/Stancliffe can obtain from the quarry, hopefully making it economically un-viable for them to quarry (and to evict the protest site).
If Marshalls/Stancliffe manage to get the quarries deemed active, we got big problems!
We're unsure of a specific date for this decision, but it is thought it will be made by mid Februaury.
Now that a repossession order has been served, the protest site could be evicted at any time. It is rumoured that Marshalls already have climbers and security on standby.
NOW IS THE TIME TO SET UP TELEPHONE TREES!
Its likely that they are waiting on the above decision, but the fear is that they could get to know the outcome of this court action before its official announcement, and then strike the protest site unexpectedly if the outcome is favourable for them.
MORE PEOPLE NEEDED ON SITE TO HELP BUILD DEFENCES
There's apparantly a good vibe on site - new (and old) peeps have arrived to help with the building and they've been having a laugh, but more peeps are needed!
The site can be hazardous in the dark if you dont know it (its an old quarry eh), so its advisable to get to know the site before a possible eviction.
TAT URGENTLY NEEDED;
Blankets
Plyboard
General building wood
Nails
Granite Dust
Polyprop Rope (10mm / 12mm)
Old Carpet
The protest site can be contacted on 07005 942212. If you can text this would be preferrable as battery charge is valuable
The main campaign website is currently inactive although we are hoping to reactivate this in the very near future; www.nineladies.uk.linux.net
Visit the following link for addresses to send letters of protest;
phil
e-mail:
philsladiesline@hotmail.com
....
06.02.2004 00:32
www.nineladies.uklinux.net
phil